Sergio Garcia lines up a putt on the 14th green during the first round of the 2013 Masters on Thursday. He is the co-leader. / Michael Madrid, USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

AUGUSTA, Ga. -- Who knows what sports disaster will befall 33-year-old Sergio Garcia in the next few days, but, for at least one round of the Masters, one of the world's favorite athletic emotional wrecks kept himself together long enough to tie for the lead with a first-round, bogey-free, six-under-par 66.

It was a surprising turn of events for a fellow who told reporters from his native Spain right here exactly a year ago that he wasn't good enough to ever win a major and that he had reached a point in his career where he needed to play for "second or third place" in the four major tournaments.

He still could be right; there are three more rounds left in this Masters, three more days for doubts to creep in and trees to get in the way and Sergio to become Sergio, the man with so much unfulfilled promise, the man without all those majors we figured he would have by now.

But, for one day at least, Garcia was skillful and courageous and so in control, he was downright masterful â?? which is not a word we ever associate with him. He knows it was quite unlike him, especially after he sounded as if he was giving up here a year ago.

"It's obviously not my most favorite place," he said Thursday after tying Australian Marc Leishman for the lead, "but we try to enjoy it as much as we can each time we come here. Sometimes it comes out better than others, but today it was one of those good days. And you know, let's enjoy it while it lasts."

Do these sound like the comments of the man who will be wearing the green jacket Sunday? Of course they don't. They sound like the thoughts of a frustrated veteran who has never won a major, a man who knows his putting stroke can come unglued under pressure, an athlete who is much more familiar with impending doom than happy endings at the most crucial times on the golf course.

Garcia has good reason for his pessimism. He has played in 14 Masters. He has finished in the top 10 just twice, ending up eighth in 2002 and tied for fourth in 2004.

But perhaps this ignominious history will work in Garcia's favor, just this once. "Lower expectation, maybe that's what you say," he said. "Every time I tee off in a tournament, my goal is to play the best I can and have a chance at winning. So it doesn't change this week. Like I said, today was a nice day. It was one of those days that you really, really enjoy, and, you know, hopefully, I'll have three more of those and we'll see what happens on Sunday night."

Garcia separated his stellar afternoon round into two parts: the first 10 holes, in which he strung together five birdies, and the final eight, when he had one more.

"I played extremely well the first 10 holes and then I struggled with a couple tee shots here and there the last six or seven holes," he said. "So, overall, what I'm going to try to take into my pillow tonight, it's the first 10 holes. I feel like it's the best 10 holes I've played at the Masters. The way I hit the ball and the amount of birdie chances that I gave myself, it meant a lot."

The way he talks and thinks, he can sound like a sensitive child. The way he plays the game, he's sometimes just an overgrown boy. For instance, there's something about Sergio and trees. He announced his arrival on the world golf stage as a 19-year-old at the 1999 PGA Championship when, late in the final round, he closed his eyes and swung at his ball nestled up against a tree trunk, then sprinted into the fairway and scissor-kicked to see that the ball had reached the elevated green. Garcia lost the PGA to Tiger Woods that day, but it appeared Woods had found a major rival for years to come. How wrong that would turn out to be.

Then, just 2 1/2 weeks ago, he climbed a tree at the Arnold Palmer Invitational to hit an errant shot, then boldly jumped out of the tree. One hole later, he withdrew from the tournament, saying he had an injured Achilles and shoulder.

And so it goes. You figure Garcia's career is bound to take another unusual turn this week, and it's certainly within the realm of possibility that this time, it could end in victory.